freret



SNAP SWITCH MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. I92I.

Pafendsepn 12, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2,. d

mvmtoz HRTHUR L. IE ET f' www@ Patented Sept. 12, 1922.

UNTE STATES PATENT FFICE.

ARTHUR L. FRERET, OF ENSLEY, ALABAMA.

SNAP-SWITCH MECHANISM.

original application led May 22, 1918, Serial No. 235,924. Divided andthis application filed A' Serial N0. 460,053.

To (MZ fw from t may con/cern): v

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. FRERE-T, a citizen o'f the United States,residing in Fnsley, Alabama, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Snap-Switch Mechanism, oi' which the following is aspecification.

This invention is a division oit my application Serial Number 235,924`tiled May 22` 1918, and relates to improved quick acting mechanism foractuating switch blades.

The objects of the invention will be apparent trom the followingdescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved switch with the frontof the cover sectioned off indicated by line 1 1 oi' Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by theline 2 2 ot Fig. 1; the switch blades and the enclosing cover beingshown in their respective closed positions Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 2 but showing the enclosing cover and the switch blades intheirrespective open positions;

Fig. lis sectional view on the plane indicated by line 4 4 of Fig. 1 theswitch blades however being shown in their open position in the interestof clearer illustration;

Fig. is a detail View o'li the switch operating mechanism, the partsbeing shown in the positions they assume when the switch blades are inclosed position;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the positions assumed by the parts whenthe switch blades 'are in open position. being a section on line 6 6 ofFig. 4;

Fig'. 7 is a detail showing the rectangular switch shaft with the switchblades secured thereto;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view or. the operating dog; and F ig. 9is a detail perspective View of the locking bar.

The switch comprises a fixed back plate 1 having an overhanging hood 2secured thereto which comprises a top 3 and short side walls 4 and 5 anda front wall 6 extending downwardly therefrom. A hinged portion 7 formedin the front wall 6 forms a pivotal support for the enclosing cover 8which cover includes side walls 9 and '10,

pril 9,

a front wallll and a bottom wall 12. A lug 3 is formed integral with thefront wall 11 of the hinged cover and a similar lug 14 is formed on the:front wall 6 of the -fixed portion of the casing. l/Vhen the cover isin open position the apertures 15 and 16 in the respective lugs 13 and14 will come into register and as shown in Fig. 3 the cover may besecurely held in open position by inserting a pin 17 through theregistering apertures.

All the movable parts of the switch mechanism are supported by thehinged enclosing cover and all electrical terminals and connections arecarried or supported by the fixed back plate. It will be seen that whenthe cover is held in open position as shown in Fig. 3, that even thoughthe switch mechanism were accidentally operated no harmful results couldoccur, and it 4will further be noted that free access may be had to theterminals and switch jaws for replacement or repair or the renewal of"fuses,

The hinged cover 8 is provided with a locking means actuated by theswitch mechanism which co-operates with a stationary jaw secured to theback plate. This mechanism comprises a locking bar 18 guided in brackets19 and 2O secured to the side wall 9 or' the cover. A spring 21vanchored to pins 22 and 23 carried respectively by the bar 18 andbracket 2O serves to normally keep the locking bar in the lockedposition shown in Fig. 2. At its upper end the bar 18 is provided withan angular lip 24 for engagement with one of the trip pawls of theswitch mechanism to be-hereinafter described.

The lower end of the locking bar 18 cooperates with a lug 25 formed onthe fixed bracket 25 which is secured to the back base 1 to securelyhold the cover in locked position as long as the switch blades areclosed and in contact with their co-operat- 'ing terminal switch jaws.When the switch mechanism is operated to break the circuit the lockingbar 18 is raised to such position to permit the end of said bar to clearthe locking lug 25. L

The feeder terminals 2.6 26 enter the casing through suitable insulatingbushiings 27 27 in the top wall 3 of the casing 2 and are connected inthe usual manner to the switch terminals 28 28 having downwardlyextending biturcated ff9-29 which project into recesses provided there-'for in the insulating block 30 which is suitably secured to the backbase l.

rlShe motor leads 31-31 are connected to the 'fuse terminals 852-32secured to an insulating base 33 carried by the back base l. Switchterminals 3ft-34 having jaws are secured to the upper part of theinsulating base 83 and suitably replaceable 'fuses 36-36 are interposedbetween other jaws 35-35 of the switch terminals Sb-8l and the jaws 3232of the motor outlet terminals 532-32 in the usual well known manner.

An insulating barrier 3i' is rigidly secured to the back base l of theswitch and is provided with a slot 38 concentric with the hinge 't' andterminating in an enlargeifi circular inner' orifice 39. This slotco-operates with the shaft of the switch mechanism to prevent theclosing oi the switch cover when the blades ot the switch mechanismarein closed position1 as will be hereinafter described.

The switch mechanism is carried wholly bythe hinged enclosing cover andis mounted therein in such a way that it can be easily and quicklyremoved Yfor replacement or re*- pair when necessary.

This mechanism comprises a detachable unit or subassembly of partsinclucling` a shaft l0 the greater part oit which is rectangular incross-section as shown in Finis. l anl 7. The ends of the shaft arecylin-A drical, one enddl is supported in a bearing' l2 which isdetachably secured by screws Ail to the side wall lO ot the enclosing;cover. The other cylindrical portion ot Vhe shaft 40, indicated at dil,is oiE I\ reater`length and is jcurnalled in a suitable bearing; YtoV inthe operating dog` L15. The dog;` `l- 's .Y vided with a cylindrical hubportion -l-(S which is rotatably mounted within a suitable aperture inthe side wall il oi' the hinged cover. By removingl the bearing.;` 4i?,the whole switch mechanism can be tain-fn ont as a unit tor inspectionor replacement. The dog` l5 (Fig. 8) is also provided with a squareshanlr i7 for engagement with the operating handle 48, and an extendedbiiiurcated jaw i9 'for engagement vith a tenon ?L of the control lever50, which is loosely mounted on the portion ela-loit operating' shaftltl.

On either side of the control lover l, 5 and 6) are located theoppositelywo` volute prings 5l and. the inner entre; ot which arelixedly secured to the sha'f' the outer tree ends oit which are hookedat 53 and 54- tor engagement with the driving pijn 55 carried by thecontrol lever 50. fi. ratchet 56 keyed to the operating` shattcooperates with trip pawls 57 and 5S which are pivotally secured at 59and 60 to the side 'iA-eases rfi wall 9 ot the hinged cover. .ihecontrol lever 50 is provided with a projcette@` pin Gl adapted toalternatei;r diseno'acje the trip pawls 57 and 58 Ytrom the ratchet 56and engaged by the hooli' also oe oft the trip pawl 58. in auxiliarytrip cam (32 keyed to the cylindrical portion 44tot the operating s mitis adapted to engage the pin (Si of the control lever to rotate thesha'tt all in the event that the sprinlci snap mechanism should tor anyreason tall to operate.

Referring` to Figs. e and i' the switch blades 63 623 and (5l-- aresecured in dove-tailed slots (S5-65 ot the split siiiporting' collars(5T-6"? which embrace the rectangular portieri il() oit the operating`sha'tt and are insulated there-trom by layers oi" liber 6Fl-G8. Suitablebolts securely clamp the collars Gi" in position on the operatinglshaft. ln Fig. 'i it will be seen that a line passing` through the majoraxis oit the cross-section of the shaft il0, is approximately at anangle oli 5 degrees trom a center line passing through the length of theblades 63.

rllhen the switch is in closed position as illistrated in Fig. 2 withthe blades GZ'l--Gl in the vertical position the major axis oit therectangular section oi the shaft l0 will be at an angle ot approximatelydegrees with the horizontal and coincident yh radial line pissing`through the hinge i. lo this position as more clearly seen in dette(.lines at in 3, it clear that it for any reason the locking;- bar it?did not operate to ctliectiiicly loca the cover to the bach base ot theswitcln that it on openingv movement were gli' to the core ,he samewould be prei.' nted in opching bf.' the interfierence et toe shait withwalls olI the orifice formed in the barrier i-li'". lllowever., 'whenthe switch blades 63 and are in their open JVJcsition as indicated inFig. S5 the blades and the shalit having been rotated throughapproximately 90 de. will so position the rectangu la r port i o n ofthe shaft that the minor axis ot its cross-section will be opposite thearcuate slot 38 ''ormed in the barrier 3T. rllhe slot beine' oliigreai'icr depth than the minor airis oli the shaft will permit theshatt to lireely passy 'therethrough when the cover raised to the openposition as clearly sho-.\;'n by the dotted position zf/ which indicatesan intermediate position ol the switch mechanism. l

ln operation when the switch is closed the heated in llipc.

l. 52 and the hinged cc einig locked in the closed position by thecooperation of the spring actuated locking; bar i8 carried by the coverand the L brochet i5 srcnrei, to the l ack base l, 'The cover 8 cannotbe opened withoi'at i'irst moving the switch blades to their openposition by.' operating` the handle d8 which act will raise to be thelocking bar 18 by reason of engagement between the lip 2a. thereof withthe trip pawl 57 which is raised to the position shown in Fig. e whenthe switch blades are opened. Should the locking bar 18 tail to operatethrough breakage or any other rea son the rectangular portion et theshaft a() will be in such position indicated at m in dotted lines in Fig. 3) as to pre* ent the passage of said shait through the lot 38 whichis oit less width than the maior axis oit the rectangular portion ott-he shatt.

When the switch blades are operated they quickly snap through an angleof approximately 90 degrees and their travel is arrested by coming intocontact with rubber bumpers TO-70 carried by a lug 71 'termed on theinterior 0l the hinged cover.

The opening movement is eii'ected by turning the handle 48 which islcarried by the squared portion t7 formed on the driving dog and itsmotion is transmitted by the biturcated end 49 to the control lever 50by engagement with a tongue 50 formed on the upper end of said controllever. As this lever swung around in clockwise direction as indicated bythe arrow in Fig. 5, the pin carried thereby will come into eng gementwith the hooked end 53 of the spring 51 and a :turtl'ier movementthereof will wind said spring around the shaft 441 which at this time isheld against rotation by the trip pawl 57 which is in engagement withthe ratchet 5G secured to the shaft, the action oit which is to storeconsiderable torque within the volute spring 51. lontinued movement otthe handle 48 and control lever 50 will bring the pin 61 carried by saidcontrol lever into engagement with the underside oi the trip pawl 57 andraise the same as shown in Fig. 6. This releases the ratchet 56 andpermits the sh att ll and the switch blades carried thereby to bequickly snapljied around into a position shown in Fig. G by the energypreviously stored in the volute spring, the movement olf the switchblades being jiositively stopped by coming Vinto contact with the rubbiwslnicl': absorbino.` hunuiiers Til carried by the ledge i of the cover.being raisy d by the pin (il carried by the control lever 5th abovedescribed, its upwai'd movement caused the locking bar 15% also raiseddue to the engagement oit lip E241; ot the locking bar with the upperoll the trip pawl 57, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3, 5 and G. lith theswitch blades in this position the rectangular portion ot the shaft 4110will be so positioned that it will 'freely pass through the slot 38 inthe insulating barrier S7 and the locking bar 1S will be raised asuiiicient distance to permit its lower end to clear the tooth 25 on thebracket 25, thus rendering all the parts in the its the trip pawl 57was' position to permit the switch cover to be swung upward about itshinge 7 to the position shown in Fig. 3, to permit access to the.interior of the switch.

To effect the closing movement oi the cover, the switch blades must bein the open position as illustrated in Fig. 3 so that'the rectangularportion ot the shaft -O will be able to enter the slot 38 of the barrierand the locking bar 1S set to clear the tooth 25" et the locking bracketIt is clear that should the switch handle i8 be inadvertently moved soas to bring the switch blades into closed position when the cover isopen `it will be impossible to swing the cover about the hinge 7 to aposition whereby the switch blades will come into Contact with the jaws29 and 35 due to the interference oil the rectangular portion of shaitl0 and the barrier wall 3'?, as indicated by dotted lines at .e in Fig.3.

After the switch cover been closed down it'inay be additionally lockedby a suitable winged thumb screw 80 passing through a slot 81 in adepending lug 82 secured to the cover and entering a tapped hole in asimilar lug S8 termed on the back base 1. The lugs S2 and 83 areprovided with registering apertures S/l through which a suitable pad-Alock may be inserted to preclude the possi-y bility of meddlers openingthe switch,

When the cover is locked in the position shown in Fig. 2, and the switchblades are in the opened position indicated in dotted lines. the switchmay be closed by swinging the operating handle in the directionindicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. The closing operation being verysimilar to the above described opening` operation. n

The driving dog 4:5 rota-ting the control lever 5) in the directionindicated permits the trip p .wl 5i' to Atall into position toicooperate with the ratchet 56. Further movemeut causes the pin toengage the hooked end 54 oit the closing spring 52, storing eneroy inthe said spring while the trip pawl. ft l Vjing the ratchet 5G preventsthe rotiusy movement until the piu 61 ot the control lever is swungaround. to position to trip the pawl 58 from engagement with itseri-operating ratchet whereupon the switch blades will be quicklysnapped to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, the movement ot thecontrol lever being arrested by the pin G1 engaging' the hooked end 582Lot the trip pawl 5S. i

Provision is made :tor opening the switch blades independent of the snapmechanism in the event that for any reason this mechanism should becomeinoperative due to the accidental breakage ot one of the opening springsor failure of other parts to properly operate. This auxiliary operatingmeans comprises the cam 62 keyed or otherwise :i incense scoured to theswitch shaft. rEhe pin 55 carried by the control lever is of such thatit projects within the path of said cam 62 as shown at the left of 4l.its thus constructed it is clear that if for any reason upon therotation of the control lever in the direction indicated in Fig. 5 theswitch blades do not operate, a continued movement thereon will carrythe pin around and into engagement with the ca n 62 which being keyed tothe shaft will cause the rotation thereof thus effecting an openingmovement of the switch blades.

Though lr. have described with great particularity of detail theembodiment herein shown, it is not to be construed that l am limite/c'thereto, as it is clear that structural changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as set forth in the following claims.

llllhat l claim is:

l. ln an electric switch a quick throw snap mechanism comprisingoperating shaft having switch blades secured thereto, a pair ofoppositely wound volute springs secured to said shaft for moving saidblades alternately in opposite directions, a ratchet secured to saidshaft, trip pawls to alter'- nately prevent the movement of saidoperating shaft arranged for engagement with said ratchet, a controllever provided with means for engaging said springs to store torquetherein upon the movement thereof and means carried by said controllever for disengaging the said trip pawl acting to prevent the rotationof said ratchet.

2. ln an electric switch a quick throw mechanism including an operatingshaft carrying switch blades, a control lever loosely mounted on saidshaft having a snring engaging pin, oppositely wound volute springshaving their inner ends secured to said shaft and their outer endshooked for engagement with the pin carried by said control lever, adriving dog having a forked end for engagement with said control lever,ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, trip pawls arranged to co-act withsaid ratchet wheel and to be alternately actuated by a trip pin carriedby said control lever, whereby the initial rotation of the control leverin one direction will store energy in one of the volute springs and afurther rotation will trip one of the pawls thereby permitting theswitch blades to quickly snap from one 'i position to anothersubstantially as described.

.fan electric switch comprising a fixed base, an e; closing cover hingedthereto, a snap switch mechanism enclosed by said cover including anoperating shaft carrying contact blades, actuating springs and a controllever and means for supporting said shaft which will permit the removalof said shaft and the parts carried thereby as a sep- :irate unit.

4t. An electric switch comprising a supporting cover, a snap switchmechanism inwinding an operating shaft, said shaft sup- )oiting acontrol lever, a ratchet, and switch ctuating springs operated by saidcontrol ever, a driving dog for actuating said con- ;rol lever, saiddriving dog being provided with a bearing for supporting one end of theoperating shaft and means for engaging said control lever which willpermit the removal of the switch operating shaft from the bearing insaid driving dog and a detachable bearing for supporting the other endof said shaft, to permit the removal of the switch operating mechanismfrom the supporting cover as a separate unit,

5. ln an electric switch a shaft carrying si itch blades. a controllever carried by saic shaft, volute springs secured to said shaft andco-actiug with said control lever to ef- .feet a quick movement of theswitch blades carried by said shaft and a lixed member on said shaftarranged to co-act with said control lever to effect an opening movementof said switch blades in the event of the failure the snap mechanism tooperate.

6. ln an electric switch a shaft carrying switch blades, a control levercarried by said shaft, volute springs havinftheir inner ends secured tosaid shaft, means carried by said control lever arranged to alternatelyengage the i' ends of said volute springs, a ratchet secured to saidshaft, trip pawls co-acting with said ratchet, and arranged to beactuated alternately by said control lever to release said ratchet andpermit a quick movement of the switch shaft, and a fixed member on saidshaft arranged to co-act with said control lever to effect a movement ofthe switch blades in the event of the fail` ure of the volute springsand associated parts to function properly.

ln witness whereof, l have hereunto signed my name.

ARTHUR L. FERRET.

